


I Thought You Left

by Lexma



Category: James Bond (Craig movies)
Genre: 00Q - Freeform, BBC Sherlock characters mentioned only, Fix-It, M/M, Not a Crossover, Q is a Holmes, That ending sucked
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-30
Updated: 2016-04-30
Packaged: 2018-06-05 09:10:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6698788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lexma/pseuds/Lexma
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After watching Skyfall  at my friend's suggestion I fell in love with this ship. Then I watched Spectre and after yelling at Bond for driving off in the Aston I decided to fix the ending. Also I'm bad with titles, sorry.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Thought You Left

             As soon as they realize that Bond is chasing the helicopter by boat they race to the nearest car. Moneypenny slides into the driver’s seat and takes off as soon as all the door are shut. She navigates the streets with ease as they chase Bond and the helicopter. Shortly after the helicopter crashes they pull up to the bridge and climb out of the car. M quickly takes the lead, Moneypenny two steps behind while Tanner and Q try to keep up. They follow M past the caution tape and Q stops to take the scene in.

             Franz had crawled away from the helicopter, dragging a bum leg behind him, but he’d stopped at Bond’s feet. Past Bond Q can barely see Dr. Swann on the other side of the bridge. He quickly ignores her though in favor of watching Bond. He’s talking to Franz at the moment, but Q’s too far away to make out the words. Bond glances over towards them, gazing at M for a moment before turning his gaze further back. Q thinks their eyes meet for a split second before Bond glances at the other end of the bridge toward Dr. Swann.

            He’s torn, Q realizes. Bond could come back to MI6, keep working until a mission does him in or sheer boredom from desk work does. On the other hand, he could leave with Dr. Swann, just walk away from the violence, the killing, being shot at, blown up, tortured. Q could hardly blame him if he decided to just walk away from it all.

And yet…

            Q had grown fond of their banter during missions and how sometimes when Bond has to come in early he’ll bring in muffins. Yes it’s for the whole of Q branch but he’ll always sets aside a couple for Q. Despite the fact that 007 tends to bring his equipment back in pieces or not at all, he usually apologizes the form of tea. Not that tea is any substitute for the millions of dollars that the gadgets cost but the sentiment is still there. So while Bond has every right to leave after everything that he’s been through, Q wants him to stay.

            Bond glances back and forth again before the clip falls out of the gun and he ejects the bullet out of the chamber. Then he tucks the gun away, turns his back towards them, and goes to meet Dr. Swann. M watches him go before turning and walking away. The fire department and police swarm the scene, taking Franz away and extinguishing the fire. Q just stands there while people buzz around him, until a police officer politely asks him to step back.

             Q glances around but can’t seem to find anyone until Moneypenny appears out of nowhere and leads him back to the car. M and Tanner are waiting for them, apparently they’d lost track of Q. “Moneypenny we’ll need to go in early tomorrow, Tanner you can take the day off” M says. “You’ll need to come in as well Q, now that Spectre is dealt with we need to finish transferring everything to the new system.”

             “Yes sir” Q nods, he hadn’t expected anything less. The four of them pile into the car.

             Moneypenny glances back at Q and Tanner “Where can I drop you two off?”

             Tanner rattles off a corner that’s probably a block or two from his actual address. Q considers, he does want to get in early but sleep is a necessity, there is one place close to MI6 he can crash at for the night without question.  He gives Moneypenny an address and pulls out his phone, sending a text ahead of his arrival. The owner of the flat has a spontaneous sleep schedule but they should be home at the very least.

            Moneypenny stops at the intersection Q specifies and he bids them good night before climbing out. He’s three blocks away from his destination but despite his exhaustion he manages to make the trip. The door opens up before he can knock so he settles for stumbling inside. “Long day?” his hostess asks, sounding just as tired as Q feels.

           “Did I wake you up?” Q inquires, he hopes not.

           “No I was just-” she breaks off to yawn “going to bed.” Q slides off his bag and his jacket, setting them down by the couch.

           “Goodnight Holly” Q offers as she shuffles off to bed.

           “Goodnight Q” she mutters, stopping to pull a blanket out and toss it on the couch. Q toes off his shoes and takes his glasses off, setting them on the table. He sprawls out on the couch and pulls the blanket on, passing out within seconds.

* * *

 

            When Q wakes up he’s greeted to the smell of tea and eggs. He checks his mobile and finds he has time to shower and eat before dragging himself back to work. “Do I still have clothes here?” he asks as he sits up.

            “Yeah, I raided your house when you didn’t bring your spare clothes back last time” Holly says.

            “I’m taking back your key” Q grumbles as he heads for the closet.

            “No you won’t” Holly replies. “And if you did you and I would be having words, brother.” Q ignores her in favor of pulling his spare clothes out of the closet and going to shower. There’s plenty of warm water, Q takes his time to clean up and wake up. He checks a couple nicks and bruises he’d acquired over the past few days, only getting dressed when he’s satisfied nothing will cause him trouble.

            “So I saw the news” Holly comments when Q emerges from the bathroom.

            “Saw the news or got a text from Mycroft” Q answers, sitting at the table where she’d left out a plate for him.

            “Both, Mycroft only asked if I’d heard from you, so I told him I was keeping an eye on you. The news however, told me that” she counts with her fingers as she lists things off. “The old MI6 building was demolished ahead of schedule, the global security network that was supposed to go up last night was mysteriously eradicated, a helicopter crashed into a bridge after being shot down by a boat, and a gentleman thought to be dead was arrested and charged with heading a previously unheard-of terrorist group.” Holly gives Q a look “You and your double ohs have been busy.”

            “Just the one I complain about all the time” he replies between bites of egg.

            “007” Holly grins “Yeah Mycroft has mentioned him once or twice, something about making his job ‘more bloody difficult than Sherlock’.” She takes a sip of coffee “Everything’s going to go to hell over the next few days, it’s nice to know people like you and 007 are looking out for us.”

            Q pauses mid-bite and sets his fork back down “He left actually.”

            “Hm?”

            “Ja-” Q catches himself and tries again “007 left.”

            “He took a holiday? Now? That asshole.”

            Any other time Q would probably agree with her “No, he didn’t take a holiday he…he left, as in retired” Q informs her.

            Holly spits out her coffee “You’re joking. Is that even Allowed for double oh agents? Shite have any of them ever reached retirement age before? Wait are we talking about the same agent that made you fly to Austria? As in the agent for which I had to consult with drug dealers to come up with the perfect concoction to put you under for the flight and no longer. That agent?”

            Q tsks and grabs a towel “Mind the table it’s artisan crafted” he chides as he wipes the table off, pointedly ignoring her questions.

            “Oh haha” Holly retorts “I can only imagine the state my bathroom is in.”

            “That was one time” he reminds her.

            “And I couldn’t use my bathroom for a week.” Silence falls as Q sets the towel back on the counter and sits back down to finish his eggs. “Did 007 really retire?” Holly asks.

            “He shot the helicopter onto the bridge, he had Franz at his feet with a gun to his head. I thought he was going to pull the trigger but…he unloaded the gun and turned his back on us to go with Dr. Swann.”

            “I’m sorry” Holly replies quietly.

            _I am too_. “It could be worse, he could have driven off with her in the Aston Martin that I just finished rebuilding” Q tries to joke. It just leaves a bad taste on his tongue though.

            Holly watches him for a moment before glancing at the clock. “I have to go in, after last night’s fiasco Mycroft undoubtedly will need to me to escort stuff I'm not allowed to look at or talk about all over town. I’ll probably come by MI6 later, want to get lunch?”

            “I have to finish transferring everything from Q branch to our new facility, then I have to install the new operating system and make sure everything is where it’s supposed to be” Q can already imagine all the work he’s going to have to do, the mere thought gives him a headache.

            “Right, well I’ll see you at about 2 o’clock then.” Holly sets her coffee cup in the sink and grabs her jacket off the back of her chair. “Please lock up before you go.”

            “You know I will” Q replies.

            “I’m serious, 2 o’clock, I will have Moneypenny hunt you down if you don’t make yourself available.” She ruffles his hair before walking out the door. Q glances over at the clock and finishes his eggs, Moneypenny will be expecting him at the intersection in the next twenty minutes. He cleans up and puts his shoes and jacket back on before grabbing his laptop bag up off the floor and slinging it over his shoulder. He locks the door as he steps out of the flat and heads back to the intersection where Moneypenny dropped him off.

            She pulls up just as he arrives and Q climbs in the back. “I hope you got plenty of rest, Quartermaster” M says “It’s going to be a long day.”

            “I’m fine” Q says. They drop him off close to the Q branch entrance and Q makes his way inside. It’s been almost completely cleared out, since they’d been planning on moving to the new facility. Q just needs to pull the files from the servers here and move them to the new, Spectre-free Q branch. He fixes a cup of tea before sitting down to work.

            Sometime later the lift starts up, making Q look up from his work to see who it is. M and Moneypenny should be up to their eyes in paperwork and official visits. Holly had promised to come by after lunch and she does her best to keep her word. Q reaches off to the side, hand closing around the nearest projectile launching-thing he can find. A gun, one of those coded to one-agent only ones, fat lot of good that would do him. When the doors finally open to reveal his guest however, Q feels his heart skip a beat.

            “Bond?” Q leans to one side because the light from his laptop has to be messing with his eyesight. There’s no way Bond’s here, he left with Dr. Swann, turned his back on MI6, turned his back on _Q_. But...

            Bond steps off the lift and walks toward Q’s desk “What are you doing here?” Q ignores fact that his heart is beating faster than usual.

            “Good morning Q” Bond says instead of answering the question. The question still hangs in the air though so Q vacates his chair so he can face Bond directly. Bond stops only a few feet from the desk, taking a fairly relaxed stance.

            Q leaves a few feet of space between them “I thought you’d gone?” It’s more a question than a statement because Bond shouldn’t be here right now he should be halfway to paradise with a lovely woman by his side. Except he’s here and Q’s heart is hammering in his chest because what if Bond had changed his mind? What if Bond’s here because he wants back in but wasn’t sure where M is to check in- Q shuts down the train of thought because despite what he may want Bond had walked away from them last night. Best not to get his hopes up now. Though the thudding of Q’s heart told him it was already too late for that.

            “I forgot something” Bond finally answers.

            “Right, the Aston” The sound of Q’s voice cracking is fairly similar to the feeling of his heart breaking. When he had made the joke earlier it had seemed harmless enough but. “I put the keys around here somewhere.” Q turns back to his desk and distracts himself with finding the keys. He can’t think about what he’s doing because this is going to be the last time he sees Bond before the agent rides off into the sunset with a beautiful woman in the car that Q just finished rebuilding for him only a few days ago. No he can’t think about that right now because if he does he’ll just end up crying and if this is how things end the last image he wants Bond to have of him should definitely Not be of him crying.

            Q’s so wrapped in his thoughts that he doesn’t notice Bond until the agent (former agent he reminds himself sternly) places a hand on Q’s shoulder. By some miracle Q doesn’t jump at the contact but he certainly hadn’t been expecting it. “I…wasn’t talking about the Aston” Bond informs him.

            “You…weren’t?” Q’s brow furrows, why else would Bond be down here?

            “I actually wasn’t sure you were going to be down here” Bond continues.

            “Yes well, I have to finish transferring files, completely wipe the old system, insure everything is ready to be transported” Q renews his search for the keys while he prattles on about his to do list for the morning. Meanwhile he’s still trying to figure out why the bloody hell Bond would be down here.

            “Q” Bond prods him in the side and this time Q does jump a little.

            “Yes?” Q asks weakly glancing up at Bond. He really needs to get Bond out of here because he’s running out of willpower to not break down.

            “I came to see you” Bond states, amusement in his tone.

            “You came to see me” Q repeats slowly.

            Bond nods “Yes, I wanted to tell you that earlier this morning I put Dr. Swann on a plane back to Austria.”

            “Oh” Ok so no driving off into the sunset with a beautiful woman, which at the very least alleviates Q’s jealousy. Wait. If Bond’s not here for the car and Dr. Swann left for Austria earlier. Q abandons his search for the keys and turns to face Bond, trying to see if there’s anything about the man that would let Q know about his motives. Bond’s poker face is exceptional though so Q learns nothing.

            “I was going to bring muffins” Bond says at length “But I wasn’t sure who was going to be down here.”

            “Bond?” Q’s really starting to get confused now.

            “What are you doing this afternoon?” Bond asks suddenly.

            “Um…I’m pretty sure my sister is dragging me off to a late lunch to make sure I eat but I’ve got a lot of work to do between now and then. What the hell are you going on about? I thought you’d retired. I thought you left” _me_ “MI6” Q says instead.

            Bond quirks a brow at Q’s hesitation “What are your plans for dinner?”

            “Well if I’m eating a late lunch I’ll probably just get something to eat on my way home” Q reaches for his tea and takes a sip, grimacing when he finds it’s cooled off.

            “Care to join me for dinner then?”

            Q nearly spits out his tea but tries to swallow it down, resulting in him coughing. Once he has that under control he sputters a little “D-dinner?”

            “I plan on staying in London” Bond informs him “And if M will have me back I’ll keep working for MI6. But I think I’d like to wait a while to report to M, if you want to go to dinner with me that is?” Q can’t believe his ears, Bond’s staying and he just invited Q to dinner.

            “Are you asking me on a date?” Q has to be sure because (it sounds cliché but) Q has a case of the butterflies.

            Bond looks amused again “Yes Q, a date.”

            “And you want to wait to report to M because…?”

            “Relationships between agents are frowned upon and discouraged” it’s a damn good thing Q set his tea cup down because he’s pretty sure he would have dropped it just now. “But no one’s ever said anything about relationships established when only one party is an agent and then the other one becomes one.”

            “You-” Bond is going to be the death of him, Q can see that right now. “You’re interested in pursuing a relationship with me.”

            Bond surprises Q by making a noise that could be considered exasperated “I’m far from blind Q. I’ve got enough experience to know when my Quartermaster returns my affections.”

_Returns?_ Q blinks at him, all the banter, the witty conversation, had that meant just as much to Bond as it did to him? Had they both been gravitating towards each other this entire time? “What about Dr. Swann?” he blurts out.

            “She’s lovely enough, intelligent enough, but she’s not you. She’s not the one who hid my location to buy me time because I was trusted enough to be believed based solely on my word. She’s not the one who dangled a pretty car in front of me practically daring me to take it” Q opens his mouth to protest but quiets as Bond continues. “She’s not the one that outfitted me with what unknown prototypes she could spare in an attempt to keep me alive. And” here Bond lowers his voice “She’s certainly not the one who overcame a fear of planes to help me out.”

            “I had a friend rig up a drug cocktail for the trip actually, both ways” Q informs him because Bond definitely shouldn’t be allowed to think he can get Q on a plane whenever he wants to.

            “But you still willingly got on a plane. You put your career on the line for me the very first mission you had as my Quartermaster.” When did the space between them get so small? Q’s sure there used to be about a foot between them but now they’re only separated by mere inches. “So yes, I’m willing to try this, unless you don’t want to.” For a very brief moment Q thinks he can see a small sliver of doubt in Bond’s eyes. It hits Q that Bond just walked away from a perfectly good opportunity to retire with a woman who accepts his past to be with Q.

            Q’s speechless to say the least, everything he tries to come up with to tell Bond how he feels just doesn’t sound right. So with a small amount of hesitation, Q leans forward and presses a chaste kiss against Bond’s lips, pulling back just before the other man can reciprocate. “I have work to do, but dinner does sound lovely, Bond.”

            “Call me James” he corrects with a sly grin. “I’ll pick you up at 8” Bond leans past Q and plucks the Aston’s keys off his desk. “Until then I’ll leave you to your work, wouldn’t want M trying to intervene would we?” Bond winks at Q and heads for the lift. Q watches him go with a smile on his face, feeling more at ease now. He waits until Bond leaves before diving into his work because he’s got a long list of things to do and he wants to leave as much time for his date as possible. A thought occurs to him and he pulls up some software to call a mobile that halfway across London.

_What is it Q?_ Holly answers

            “You don’t won't have to deal with my pining at lunch” he offers.

            There’s a slight pause _He came back for you, didn’t he?_

            Q smiles “Yes, yes he did.”


End file.
